It sounds like a theory plucked from the page of a science fiction novel, but according to Enrique Gaztañaga from the University of Portsmouth, our entire Universe could be trapped inside a black hole. It's a mind-blowing theory, but it could help us better understand the fundamental nature of our reality. But how is it even possible for us to be inside a black hole? Will we ever know for sure? And what could lie beyond its boundaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chances are that when most of us think of spinosaurs our minds will turn to the hulking, predatory sail-backed dinosaur that famously took down a T. Rex in the Jurassic Park movies. But thanks to their highly fragmented fossil records, in the real world, our knowledge of these fascinating, ancient creatures is far from complete. Where did they live? How did they live? And what did they really look like? In today’s episode, we’re joined by David Hone, a palaeontologist based at Queen Mary University of London, and Mark P. Witton, a palaeontologist and paleoartist based at the University of Portsmouth, to talk about their latest book, Spinosaur Tales, The Biology and Ecology of the Spinosaurs. They tell us how palaeontologists piece together details of dinosaurs’ appearances and behaviours by painstakingly poring over fossil records, why we shouldn’t believe everything we see in the movies, and why there’s still so much to learn about these mysterious, and at times controversial, beasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How much control do we have over our actions and decisions? For most of us, it’s likely that the answer is that, of course, all of the choices we make are our own. But it’s long been argued by some scientists and philosophers that this isn’t the case at all. Could it be that the trajectories of our lives are largely already written into our biology, genes and neural circuitry before we’re even born? In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Hannah Critchlow, a neuroscientist and author based at the University of Cambridge and recipient of the 2026 Humanist Society’s Rosalind Franklin Medal. She explains how our personalities, beliefs and actions are deeply influenced by our ancestry, genes and upbringing, what’s happening in our brains when we make a decision, and how current research is showing that accepting our predispositions can likely help us all make the most of who we are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It’s likely that if any of us step and of our front doors and take a moment to listen to what’s going on around us, we’ll hear the vocalisations of dozens of different animals. But why are they making these sounds and can we ever really understand what they actually mean? In this episode, we’re joined by naturalist and author Amelia Thomas to discuss her latest book What Sheep Think About the Weather, How to Listen to What Animals Are Trying to Say. She tells us how the tone that’s innate in animal vocalisations may be the mother of all communication how dogs may have evolved their barks in order to express their wants and needs to us humans and how we can all enrich our lives by listening to the sounds that naturally occur around us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It’s currently thought that around one billion people worldwide aren’t getting enough protein to meet their daily needs. Alongside this, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the large-scale farming of livestock and the overfishing of the Earth’s oceans to provide us with vital sources of protein are causing great harm to the environment. But could the production of more alternative protein sources, such as cultivated meat, plants like algae and duckweed and even insects, help provide us with a neat solution to both of these issues? As part of our four-part miniseries, Future of Food, we’re joined by a panel of three researchers based at The University of Sheffield: Professor of biomanufacturing Tuck Seng Wong, Professor of plant cell signalling Julie Gray and a Senior Lecturer based at the School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering, Dr Kang Lan Tee. They tell us about the latest technological developments that are helping us to produce healthy, nutritious proteins in novel ways, how many of these methods can make much more efficient use of resources such as energy and water, and why perhaps many of us could benefit from being a little more open-minded when it comes to thinking about what we put on our plates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Many of us will have experienced changes in our emotional states after failing to get a good night’s sleep. Maybe we find that we lose our temper more easily or that we’re more likely to feel sad or upset. But what exactly is going on in our bodies and brains when we lack sleep that gives rise to these, often troubling, effects? In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Bogdan Matei, a medical psychiatrist and master trainer for the luxury bed brand Hästens. He tells us what happens in different areas of our brains when we don’t get enough sleep, how this affects our ability to regulate our emotions and shares some techniques we can use to mitigate the debilitating effects of sleep deprivation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
According to the United Nations, around one-third of all the food currently produced across the planet is being lost or wasted, oftentimes before it even reaches our plates. As well as the loss of essential sources of nutrition needed to feed the global population, issues in food supply chains are using up other vital resources such as water, labour and energy. So, what can we do to ensure that as much food as possible makes it from farm to fork without being wasted? As part of our four-part miniseries, Future of Food, we’re joined by Dr Natalia Falagán, an Agricultural Engineer and Senior Lecturer in Food Science and Technology at Cranfield University. She explains the need for more joined-up thinking to help connect the different stages of our food production systems, the difference between use-by and best-before dates and tells us how growing something as simple as herbs in a kitchen window box can help us all deepen our relationships with the food we eat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This episode was recorded on November 6th 2025. Artificial intelligence has been the movement of the moment in recent years. Since it burst to prominence in 2022, hundreds of millions of people have started using AI systems every day – for everything from writing essays to coding software, generating art and planning their lives. But with soaring valuations, constant hype, and growing concerns about how much these systems really understand, some experts and investors are starting to ask whether we’re heading for an AI bubble. One of them is Gary Marcus, a scientist, author, entrepreneur, and one of the AI industry’s most outspoken critics. Over the years, Gary has become a leading voice in debates about artificial intelligence, and many of his predictions about where the technology is heading have proven remarkably prescient. In this episode, Gary cuts through the noise and digs into hype vs reality, what current systems still can’t, and may never be able to do, and what a more reliable path forward might look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Recent UN data tells us that currently 670 million people around the world are going hungry. There’s little doubt that food security is one of the most serious problems that the human race is facing. How have we reached this point of crisis and what solutions can we put in place to make sure everyone on the planet has enough nutritious food to eat without causing further harm to the environment? As part of our four-part miniseries, Future of Food, we’re joined by Dr Dave Chandler, a crop researcher and agricultural scientist based at the University of Warwick. He tells us how current global food production practices are one of the most significant drivers of environmental damage and biodiversity loss, how climate change is threatening our ability to grow fresh produce to put on our plates and details some of the current thinking on how we can ensure the future of food production worldwide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Along with their vast size and habit of jumping playfully out of the water, whales are renowned for their haunting melodic vocalisations. However, after decades of research, scientists still aren’t sure why these mysterious creatures sing their other-worldly songs. Could it be a form of sexual display? Maybe it’s a method of communication? Or is it possible that the giant marine mammals are using these plaintive moans as a form of echolocation? Behavioural neuroscientist and author of the book Why Whales Sing Prof Eduardo Mercado certainly thinks so. In this episode, he tells us how whale songs can last for as long as 40 hours and be heard up to 1,000km away, how, acoustically speaking, whale songs have more in common with bat vocalisations than birdsongs and how ocean noise created by increases in fishing and shipping activity may be wreaking havoc on whales’ ability to navigate the ocean depths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Over the past several decades nutritional advice from doctors and expert researchers has largely relied on one-size-fits-all approach – eat five portions of fruit and veg a day, limit your intake of sugar and salt, stay away from overly fatty or processed foods as much as possible – but in recent times it has become clear that, while this is all good advice, the real-life picture is much more subtle. The latest research has revealed that the way we respond to the food we eat varies widely from person to person. As part of our four-part miniseries, Future of Food, we’re joined by Prof Sarah Berry, a nutritional scientist based at King’s College London and chef scientist at the ZOE. She tells us how the gathering of large-scale datasets on dietary habits is changing the way we think about nutritional science, how some of us are more sensitive to the negative effects of certain foods than others, and the key role that advances in technology are playing in the future of dietary research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Throughout our lives we all go through several significant periods of change – puberty, young adulthood, middle age, retirement. Each comes with its own quirks and challenges, but perhaps one of the most underdiscussed of these stages is menopause. The lowering of hormone levels and eventual cessation of ovulation caused by menopause can affect women’s mental and physical health, performance in the workplace and even social life. So why is talking about it still considered so taboo? In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Saleyha Ashan, a journalist, emergency medicine doctor and researcher based at the University of Cambridge. She tells us what she’s learned from her own life experiences as a woman and medical doctor, the many, varied ways that menopause affects women’s physical and mental health and gives us advice that can help us all navigate this natural period in life more successfully. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wikipedia. It needs almost no introduction. Few websites are more well-known, more commonly used and more foundational to the web as we know it than the online encyclopedia. This week, we’re joined by its founder, Jimmy Wales, to talk about how the platform has evolved over the past two decades, the challenges of maintaining trust and neutrality in an age of misinformation, and how AI could shape Wikipedia’s future. Jimmy also shares insights from his new book, The Seven Rules of Trust, exploring what it really takes to build credibility – and why it’s more important now than ever before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Hippies, the Beatles, flower power, magic mushrooms, raves and festivals – that’s what most of us associate with psychedelics. But there is mounting evidence that these drugs could also be used medicinally, particularly to treat mental illnesses such as depression. In this episode, we speak to Prof David Nutt, a psychopharmacologist who has spent decades researching how drugs affect the brain. Now a professor at Imperial College London, David has published more than 500 research papers, eight government reports, and 40 books – including one called Psychedelics, in 2023. In this conversation, he explains how psychedelics affect the brain, how they alter people’s sense of self and perception of reality, and why they could revolutionise the future of mental health treatments. Please note that psychedelics are Class A drugs according to UK law. Anyone caught in possession of such substances can face up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. Information and support for those affected by substance abuse can be found at bbc.co.uk/actionline. The following conversation specifically concerns psychedelics when used in a clinical context, given at low doses and under medical supervision. Please don’t try this at home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What will we all be eating in 2050? How will it be produced? And how can our diets keep us healthier for longer? If these are questions you'd like answered, why not check out the upcoming Future of Food mini-series. You'll discover how cutting-edge farming technology is helping us to produce food that's kinder to the environment, how overlooked foods such as algae and seaweed may soon become a common sight on our plates, and how new discoveries are uncovering the fascinating science of how our bodies all respond differently to the food we eat. Tune in to the weekly four-part miniseries, starting Monday 3rd November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The commonly held story goes that we all begin life as a single cell in our mother’s womb and go on from there to develop into fully formed adult human beings composed of cells of our own creation. However, recent research is showing that this isn’t quite the full picture. Not all of the cells in our bodies come from this single starting point. We are, in fact, all host to cells that have migrated from the bodies of other people – our mothers, grandmothers, siblings and even, in some cases, complete strangers. In this episode, we’re joined by science writer Lise Barnéoud to talk about her latest book Hidden Guests - Migrating Cells and How the New Science of Microchimerism Is Redefining Human Identity. She tells us how mothers and babies share cells across the placenta during pregnancy, how these cells make their homes within our organs and persist for our entire lives, and how this mysterious process led to a woman giving birth to the genetic children of her unborn twin sister. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Thanks to hundreds of years of scientific progress we now know, that like every other living thing on Earth, human beings are simply assemblages of atoms and molecules that evolved over eons through a series of complex, iterative processes. But somewhere along this long and meandering journey we developed consciousness – the deep sense of self-awareness that allows us to think, feel and even allows us to attempt to understand what’s going on in the Universe around us. In this episode, we’re joined by neuroscientist and author Dr Nikolay Kukushkin to talk about his latest book, One Hand Clapping – Unravelling the Mystery of the Human Mind. He tells us how this entire process all started millions of years ago through the interactions of atoms such as carbon and oxygen, how taking a bottom-up approach to the development of consciousness can help to explain how human beings became such complicated entities and how the advent of artificial intelligence may, or may not, influence the future evolution of our species. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Stars feel like a fundamental feature of the Universe – as essential as planets, galaxies and space itself. But since we know the Universe had a beginning (the Big Bang), there must also have been a first star. Before it, there was only darkness; after it, the cosmos as we know it began to take shape. Exactly what those first stars were like – and how they transformed everything that followed – remains one of astronomy’s great mysteries. It’s a mystery that astrophysicist Dr Emma Chapman has dedicated much of her career to solving. In this episode, Emma joins us to talk about her book First Light: Switching on the Stars at the Dawn of Time, recently updated to include discoveries from groundbreaking telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Humanity is beautifully diverse. Some of that diversity is visible, but hidden beneath the surface, there is also a hidden web of genetic variation that collectively tells a story about how people have adapted to their environments, sometimes in weird and wonderful ways. In this episode, we speak to Prof. Herman Pontzer, an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University, USA, and the author of Burn: the misunderstood science of metabolism, as well as his newest book, Adaptable: the surprising science of human diversity, which inspired this conversation. Herman tells us about how our genes can evolve over generations, how specific groups of humans have adapted to survive and thrive in different environments, and why understanding the science of diversity is so important for society as a whole. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chances are that when most of us think about the notion of crime our minds turn to acts committed against an individual – be it theft, fraud or even physical assault. But every day ecological crimes are committed against the planet we all live on that often fly under the radar despite the significant, far-reaching effects they have on all of us. In this episode, we’re joined by criminal psychologist and bestselling author, Dr Julia Shaw to talk about her latest book, Green Crime – Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet, and How to Stop Them. She breaks down the factors that drive individuals and organisations to commit acts that are damaging to the environment and explains how understanding the psychology that underpins these acts can help us to keep our planet healthy for generations to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Be it a cold, drafty room in a creaky old country house or a still, quiet forest on a dark night, chances are that at one point or another we’ll all have entered an environment that for some reason made us feel uneasy. But what exactly makes a certain place or situation feel so creepy, and why do we get these feelings in the first place? In this episode, we’re joined by psychologist and magician Prof Richard Wiseman to talk about his work as a scientist who investigates the psychology behind paranormal phenomena. He tells us how ghostly experiences may actually have evolved to help keep us away from dangerous environments, how our brains are primed to see faces that aren’t really there, and how the state of consciousness that exists between waking and sleeping can lead us to feel the presence of threatening entities lurking in our bedrooms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chances are when we’re treated with medicines in hospital or pick up our prescriptions at the pharmacy, we don’t give much thought about how the drugs that are so vital for our health and wellbeing came to be. The fact is the journey that a new medicine takes from its beginnings in the laboratory to finally being administered to patients can be long and arduous. It typically takes the work of countless scientists, researchers and technologists toiling away behind the scenes for decades and is often fraught with failure. So exactly how does a new drug make the grade? In this episode, we’re joined by oncologist and drug researcher Dr William Pao to talk about his latest book, Breakthrough – The Quest for Life-Changing Medicines. He tells us how fundamental academic scientific lays down the bedrock for the development of a new drug, runs us through the vital importance that clinical trials play in the whole drug development process, and tells us the fascinating story of how the common everyday drug paracetamol was discovered by accident. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Is our planet under threat from the depths of space? In this episode, we talk to solar physicist Dr Ryan French. Normally, Ryan is busy unravelling the mysteries of our Sun, but today we’ll be delving into a slightly darker topic – the many risks posed to our delicate planet from space. In his recent book, "Space Hazards: Asteroids, solar flares and cosmic threats”, Ryan covers all the many dangers our planet faces from space rocks, the Sun and the farthest reaches of the Universe. We run through some of the most pressing threats and find out just how worried we should be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Many of us treat our pet dogs or cats with the same love and attention that with give to our human babies, some of us give our cars or other prized possessions human names and may even, at times, talk to them. This is known as anthropomorphism – the tendency within many of us to assign human qualities to non-human animals and even inanimate objects. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Justin Gregg to talk about his latest book, Human-ish – How Anthropomorphism Makes Us Smart, Weird and Delusional. He tells us how we’ve bred our pets to look and behave in more and more human-like ways, the benefits we can all gain from attributing human-like qualities to inanimate objects such as cars or musicalminstruments, and how AI chatbots are expanding the phenomenon of anthropomorphism further than ever before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It’s a little-known fact that bats are one of the most successful animals on Earth, with almost 1,500 different species currently identified. Their agility in flight and prowess as hunters, wide-ranging diversity in size and behaviour and ability to adapt to almost any environment have allowed them to conquer almost every corner of the globe. But despite their success, many species of bats are now under threat. In this episode, we’re joined by ecologist and neurobiologist Prof Yossi Yuval to talk about his latest book, The Genius Bat – Understanding our Most Mysterious Mammal. He gives us a breakdown of bats’ sophisticated ability to ‘see’ the world using sound, tells us how despite their reputation as terrifying blood-thirsty predators, vampire bats have highly developed social networks and will even share their meals with other members of their roosts, and also explains how the loss of bats could have a huge effect on the ecosystems in which they live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Thanks to their comical waddle-like way of walking, striking tuxedo-patterned plumage or graceful ability to seemingly ‘fly’ beneath the water, penguins are without doubt one of the planet’s most instantly recognisable animals. But the fact is that they are also one of its most endangered species of bird. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Peter Fretwell, lead scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, to talk about his latest book The Penguin Book of Penguins – An Expert’s Guide to the World’s Most Beloved Bird. He tells us how, despite popular belief, penguins are found all over the globe, not just in Antarctica, why exactly they have such a comical way of walking and the actions we need to take if we want to save these charismatic birds from extinction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Relatively speaking neuroscience and psychology are young fields of scientific research that only really got going over the last hundred years or so. However, during this time several stubborn myths have arisen that, zombie-like, just don’t seem to go away. In this episode, we speak to neuroscientist, best-selling author and long-time BBC Science Focus contributor Dr Dean Burnett. He tells us how much of our brain we really use, explains whether polygraphs can really tell if we’re lying, and explains the real difference between our left and right brains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
When it comes to climate change, we often think of tipping points as having a huge negative effect. Be it the loss of ice sheets in the Arctic, the deforestation of the Amazon rain forest or the alteration of ocean currents, scientists have identified several key systems on the Earth that will be impossible to reverse if they cross a critical threshold. But if we look at the situation from the opposite side, there are also several positive tipping points that, given the correct momentum, can potentially halt the crisis the planet is facing. In this episode, we’re joined by Prof Tim Lenton, chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter, to talk about his latest book Positive Tipping Points – How to Fix the Climate Crisis. He tells us how the pop group A-ha helped Norway to lead the way in the adoption of electric vehicles, how government mandates can act as powerful amplifiers to get us closer to these vital climate tipping points, and how each positive tipping point can feed into another to push us closer to a greener future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From Lewis Carrol’s mysterious grinning Cheshire Cat and Jim Davis’s lazy, lasagne-loving comic strip tabby Garfield to the depictions of big cats found in palaeolithic cave art and the ancient Egyptian’s practice of worshipping cat-like deities, it’s clear we humans have had a long-standing fascination with felines. But how did this obsession with these charismatic animals begin? In this episode, we’re joined by Jerry D Moore, a professor of anthropology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, to talk about his latest book Cat Tales: A History – How We Learned to Live with Them… He tells us how ancient cultures feared and revered the big cats they shared their land with thanks to their prowess as apex predators, how human’s development of agriculture and the storage of grain gave wild cats a reliable hunting ground in which to catch rodents, and how the domestic house cats of today may have chosen to live with us and much as we chose to live with them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Despite being a land-based species, the fact is that we humans live on a planet that is largely covered by oceans. The oceans play a key role in regulating the Earth’s climate and provide us with many of the resources essential for our continued survival – even down to the oxygen we breathe. The sad truth is our oceans aren’t in good shape. But there is still hope. With directed effort we can all help to preserve this vital resource and improve the health of the planet and all who live on it. In this episode, we catch up with oceanographer, environmentalist and grandson of the legendary ocean explorer and innovator Jacques Cousteau, Philippe Cousteau Jr. He breaks down the huge importance the oceans have on the health of the planet, explains how taking positive environmental action can benefit us both culturally and economically and how educating the next generation is key to safeguarding the future of the planet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
